[PODCAST EP11] Inspiring and Succeeding as a Keynote Speaker with Mark Sanborn

This week on The Production Channel, we look into the ingredients that make up a successful keynote speaker. In Episode 11, Stephen and Clem interview Mark Sanborn, a professional speaker and a best selling author – penning titles like The Fred Factor and You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader. Mark, a 30+ year veteran of professional speaking, currently is a keynote speaker for many events around the world speaking mostly to business leaders about leadership and how to make things extraordinary.

Mark Sanborn has spent the last 31 years crafting his skills so that he can begin to boil down what makes a good speech and how to be a good part of a show. Mark talks a lot about being a positive experience for the audience, but also focuses on the idea that he tries to be a good experience for the audio techs and stage hands too. He states, “The interesting thing to me is that once you get the big things, then it’s the little things that people remember, your attitude…”. Mark is a industry leader and talks about how he keeps it fresh for himself and for the clients he speaks for. Explaining that he knows there will always be a new “go to guy”, but his lengthy and successful career proves that his thoughts about delivering on the basics and continuing to reinvent yourself yield positive and inspiring results.

Join the conversation to learn Mark Sanborn’s key tips on how to be a successful keynote speaker, how to deliver on the basics and hear about the lessons learned within his best selling books.

Full Podcast Transcript

Stephen Bowles:
Hey, everybody. My name is Stephen Bowles and you’re listening to another episode of The Production Channel and I’m joined by my good-

Clem Harrod:
Chatter.

Stephen Bowles:
I’m joined by my good friend, Clem. What’s up, Clem?

Clem Harrod:
Hey, buddy. What’s going on?

Stephen Bowles:
Not too much, man. Excited about the day. We’ve got a really, really different take on sort of the live event production aspect, someone who’s really more dialed in from the stage but before we introduce him, real quick, Clem, tell me what the heck are we doing here, what is The Production Channel.

Clem Harrod:
You know how passionate I am about the people in which I work in the different facets of the production industry. We are the people backstage. We are the people that are making it happen for the messengers to deliver their message for the audience to receive it. We are the heart, the soul of the industry.

Stephen Bowles:
Honestly, this podcast and then really just The Production Channel as a whole is built to deliver stories and really kind of bring the people from backstage out and give them a way to kind of share their stories and share kind of how it is that they got there. Anyways, a great example of that is who we’ve got on today is we’ve got Mark Sanborn who is the president of Sanborn & Associates and really, he has built a career doing hundreds, if not, I’m sure even more … I forget what you said there, Mark … probably thousands of shows really around the globe where he gets up there and he’s the one … He’s really keynoting the sessions. He’s the one up there delivering either motivational speaking or really driving home the point for the client and for the audience there. Mark, we’re really excited to have you on The Production Channel today.

Mark Sanborn:
Thanks. I have an interesting job. I’m a professional speaker but we always explain it like this. I run a leadership development idea studio. The primary way that I convey my ideas is through keynote speeches but I also write books. We have training resources. We have an office here in South Denver, Colorado and a board room but the point of my arrow is working with folks like you to put on a show for my clients. What I do is I talk about leadership and turning ordinary into extraordinary. Leadership is kind of my passion. I have a business background and I talk to primarily business leaders but I’ve talked to everybody from people in the cremation industry to colleges, nonprofits, churches, Fortune 100 companies and everybody in between.

Clem Harrod:
I heard you on presentations and man, it was powerful. It was motivational. It got me inspired. The Fred Factor, please just tell us about The Fred Factor.

Mark Sanborn:
Sure. Let me just cue it up and say that when I speak, I’m very cognizant that my success or failure hinges on what happens backstage and frankly, I think what I do on stage is easier than what the client does and the production company does in planning the meeting and then what happens in terms of actually executing the meeting. There’s a lot more, I think, that can go wrong in that long process versus the one hour that I’m typically on stage. My goal is to be really easy to work with. I also like people who are like-minded. I did a show once. I was emceeing an entire event and the stage manager was asking me some questions about what I wanted and I say, “Hey, whatever … What do you want me to do?” She said something that I thought was such a great attitude for all of us. She said, “Well, you know, I’m here for you.”
I think when everybody comes with that attitude, you don’t bump up against egos and you don’t bump up against problems that would arise when everybody says, hey, it’s about my … I’ve worked with production crews where somebody was just so mainly intent on their little piece of the puzzle whether it was the audio or the imaging or whatever that it was like everything else took a backseat including my presentation. That’s a recipe for disaster.
The reason that I love that woman who said, the stage manager, I’m here for you is The Fred Factor is about a guy that delivered mail for 30 plus years in Denver and he did it in such an extraordinary way that he took what frankly would be a pretty simple job, put mail in the box every day, and he made it artistry. He did that through these four principles I talk about in the book. One is he was conscious about making a difference. I always tell people you rarely make a positive difference accidentally. You don’t typically go through the day and say, “Wow, I just really made a big difference in somebody’s life. How did that happen?” It was something that you set out to do. I would say awareness is the first step for any professional, seeing those opportunities, looking for them.
The second part is on relationship. We don’t always … In the short time, we work with people on a show other than the people that work together on an ongoing basis, we aren’t really forming lasting relationships like we think about relationships. What we’re doing is we’re making connections. I also tell people that a connection is a shared moment of affinity. It’s that time that you’re interacting with somebody, maybe it’s just long enough for me, for the audio guy to put my mic on. If I can just make a little connection, have a little bit of fun inquiring to that guy’s day or that gal’s life, that connection counts for a lot. That’s the second thing, is relationship or connection.
The third thing is it’s about creating value and looking for little ways to create value. If I say to a client, I’ll say, “Is there water on stage,” and they’ll say, “Well, let me get you some,” I’ll say, “No, that’s all right. I’ve got a bottle right here,” I want to make … People expect the speech to be good. People expect the production to be good. If you don’t deliver on the basics, it don’t matter what you do. You can’t make up for a lack of value, right, the little things. The interesting thing to me is that once you get the big things, then it’s the little things that people remember, your attitude or your willingness to …
It’s so funny, sometimes, people will say, “I know we’re supposed to do a sound check at seven. Could you come at 6:45? God, I’m so sorry.” I’m like, “No big deal, 6:45.” I guess it’s because … This amazes me because I’m a simple guy but I guess there are people that get crazed about that kind of stuff. Here’s, I guess, what I’ll say that … Here’s where we all share a similar focus. To me, it’s about the audience. I want the audience to have a great experience. I’m a piece of that experience. I’m not the totality of that experience. If the room is too hot or the sound sucks or my slides don’t work, there’s a hundred things that can take away from that experience. I only control a very few of them. It’s really a team effort. I’m not trying to suck up but that’s really the way that I kind of bring my game, my show to the party.
The final part is just reinvent yourself every day so you don’t get bored and burn out. Frankly, I tell people, my speech is for you all, that money I charged just to get on and off the airplane.

Clem Harrod:
Right. I remember you saying that. You’re talking about the big picture, right? You’re talking about you’re just a part of that big picture. How do you get somebody to be aware of the connection that their one role plays in the big picture though?

Mark Sanborn:
I’ll say people that don’t feel significant rarely choose to act significantly or be significant. I think we have to remind people that the little things they do make a big difference and not to speak down to them or to be juvenile but just say, “If this clicker doesn’t get into the CEO’s hands backstage, it’s going to be an awkward moment on stage when he’s looking around going, ‘Where’s my clicker?’” Assumption is such a deadly thing. I love the scene from Philadelphia where Denzel Washington says to Tom Hanks, Tom Hanks is playing an AIDS patient who’s getting representation for discriminatory workplace practices, and Denzel Washington says, “Explain it to me like I’m a second-grader.”

Clem Harrod:
Yes. Great line.

Mark Sanborn:
I love that attitude because sometimes, people … It’s so funny to me, I’ve probably put on 5,000 microphones in my life. If you count, put them on, put them off in different venues, and I’ll get these mic guys that won’t let me touch the mic, right? I’m like, “Hey, I’m waiting, man. I’ll tell you what. Let’s get it on, let’s do it your way. Maybe I’ll have a few suggestions, a little feedback.” I try to just kind of go with the flow. I always love a guy who’s like being real anal and controlling and says, “Well, you’ve probably put a few of these on.” I’m like, “Dude, I could do your job if I ever give up the speaking gig.”

Stephen Bowles:
Mark, in sort of your career, tell us the different types of venues you’ve worked in in terms of like the complexities, right? I’m sure you’ve certainly done ballrooms. Have you ever done theaters? Have you ever done television and just kind of, as you’ve interacted with more of the production aspects in those different venues, have you learned things? Have you ever had any like massive just failures where the microphone just went out and you had to yell from the stage? Tell us kind of some of those war stories from your world?

Mark Sanborn:
Wow. Well, how many days do we have on this podcast? It’s so funny, the ones that come to mind are the most challenging or the biggest … Probably, my all-time favorite is I once worked in a big casino in Vegas where they had me speaking to like a hundred people on a room with a 30-foot tree in the middle, I mean, a giant ass tree, like a full-blown tree.

Stephen Bowles:
Nice.

Mark Sanborn:
If you do the math on this, you’ll realize that no matter where you stand, half the audience is behind the tree. I said to the meeting planner who paid my fee, “This is not an inexpensive event.” She said, “Well, look. It’s the only room I could get. Go with it.” I always say, “I’m the cab driver, you’re the passenger, whatever you say.” I spent the entire speech walking back and forth around the tree kind of pacing so that at any one time, at least half the audience could see me.

Clem Harrod:
I hope the lighting guy prepared for that.

Stephen Bowles:
Yeah. I’m just thinking as a video director, that would be miserable.

Mark Sanborn:
It was mostly about food and audio. I think they could have piped me in through the loud speakers and I could have been as effective from another room. I’ve worked, in around, I’ve worked my … I love, a lot of times, in Vegas, I’ll do boxing room setups where the show will be themed. Those, to me, are fun venues. A lot of people get thrown by them but I always say just remember to work all sides of the audience. I don’t know that I have come up with any particular tricks other than, I guess, if there’s one gimmick, one technique I rely on and that is don’t be thrown by anything because something weird is going to happen.
If you get thrown by it … The other thing I do is whenever there’s a problem, I try never to throw anybody under the bus. Sometimes, it’s easy to get kind of pissy and say, “Hey, what’s going on? We’ve tested this mic this morning and then …” If I’m a sound guy, I’m like, “Hey, screw you, buddy. You think you had a bad night before. Try this.” I try to approach it as not you’re causing the problem but, we’ve got a problem. I’m more interested on the solution than I am on who is responsible. Because I have started out in college in radio and I love rock and roll and I’ve been backstage with so many venues and so many concerts, I have such a great respect for what goes on back there that I really look at it as a collaborative effort. I’m not there for them, they’re not there for me. We’re there for each other.
Let’s see. Some other … I’ve done venues on tents by the ocean. That’s always fun. I guess if I was going to give production folks who are advising clients a suggestion, that would be to make sure the client prioritizes what’s most important to you, the venue or the impact of the program, because we all love … I think doing a buffet dinner under a tent in Maui is fabulous but if you’re trying to convey some serious information or educate, anything short of entertaining, the venue trumps the performance. I think very often, meeting planners like all of us, they try to do too much. Hey, we want a really good speaker. We want a really sexy venue. We want great lighting. I bet people say, “We can’t use your slides because it’ll screw up the lighting.” Okay. I didn’t use … You guys might be interested. At 31 years, I didn’t use any slides for like 28.

Stephen Bowles:
Wow.

Clem Harrod:
Wow.

Mark Sanborn:
I think we’ve changed the way people think. I’m still messing around. I’m trying to go more and more and more to image only slides. It’s pretty hard to do when you do business speaking like I do. If I were king of the world, I love just me and the audience but there’s some benefits. I can argue it either way. For 28 to 31 years, I’ve never used slides.

Clem Harrod:
I will say that I noticed that that most of your slides were just like a general image which allow the director to take more IMAG. I remember, the organizer of the meeting was asking for more IMAG on [com 00:14:16] because your slides were … They weren’t wordy.

Mark Sanborn:
They kind of speak for themselves. They support the message. They aren’t the … I’ll tell you, the only thing that streak … I have a couple slides that are very time sensitive. My perfect world is where you have a fixed slide and an IMAG or you have two IMAGs and one fixed slide. I love it because I think it’s very challenging to do that mix on the fly because sometimes, I’ll say something, hit the advance and I’m used to this big laugh and I hit the advance and nothing happens. I glance over and I realize, because I’m still on the screen and the image that gets the big laugh hasn’t caught up yet.

Stephen Bowles:
Yep. That’s interesting because that’s what I’ve … My background is directing live cameras for corporate events for the most part and so, absolutely, when we only have the one screen and I’m mixing in and out, I’m actually actively trying to watch the graphics advance but I have to wait till you advance. There’s sort of this relationship that you and I should have but we don’t where you’ve sort of told me that, “Hey, this is a big laughing slide. I need to get it right there,” but instead, I’m just sort of cutting cameras as I see it fit and then, when the slide changes, I bring them up as they go. I’ve been in shows where I felt that missed opportunity or that mismatch.

Mark Sanborn:
You made a good point. If you talk it through, that’s the key, is never assuming that because there’ve been times I thought my advance was live and I found out later it was a signal advance somebody else was doing and I’m going, “Now, this is information I could have used before I started my program.”

Stephen Bowles:
You tapped into something there that I think would be good for this sort of conversation here which is we do these gigs event after event after event and so you’re rolling into a ballroom or you’re rolling into another event and you’re just thinking, “All right, I’ve been hired in to do this job. What are my circumstances in this one?” and then sort of adapting appropriately. We’re doing the same thing. We walk into another gig and we’re like, “All right, well, who’s the keynote speaker here? Who’s the motivational speaker here?” got to get them on the microphone, got to figure out if he’s got slides, so we’re all kind of entering in from the same way where it’s like I’ve got to equip this person and you’ve got to equip us but that’s often where it stops, right? Often, you don’t actually come back and meet with me or I don’t take the initiative to walk out and say, “Hey, Mark, so during your 30 minutes up here where you’re trying to engage the audience, how can I help you keep that engagement on point the entire time?”
At least for me, speaking honestly, I would do that sometimes but not on the regular just because it’s, to an extent, it’s hard to stay that active when there’s so many presenters that go from session to session to session. It can get to a point where I would go, “Hey, you’re just another keynote speaker. I just need to get your camera pointed on you, get the microphone on you and let you do your gig as opposed to really getting out there and helping you.” Does that make sense?

Mark Sanborn:
Yeah. I think it’s incumbent on me to be cognizant over the years. Like I said, I keep learning stuff and to say, “Hey, is this live or is this a signal advance?” and then to be proactive knowing that you’ve got … I’m not the only guy in the program. I’ll tell you from a self-serving standpoint, when you work with a speaker and he or she is really easy to work with and they do a good job, it makes your life easier to say to the next client, “Yeah, I did a lot of speaker out there but hey, I worked with this guy on Orlando and he’s a good egg and we get along great and I know how his show works.” That’s always my hope, from a self-serving standpoint, not just that the speech would be good. If the speech is good but I’ve been a real horse’s ass, you’re not going to recommend me. You’re going to be like, “Oh, yeah. He’s a good speaker but whatever.” You’re not a nice guy.

Clem Harrod:
Right.

Mark Sanborn:
I love when I roll in and the production company says, “Hey, we worked together before,” and I’m like, “Cool.” That’s always icing on the cake.

Stephen Bowles:
That’s cool.

Clem Harrod:
I love the way that the two of you … I’m an outsider listening to the relationship that you all are saying you probably should have had on a show site. That’s encouraging words for future director or current director or future presenter or current presenter who may be listening. Take the time to speak with the people that will be executing some of your message, helping to get your message across whether you’re the person on the stage or the person behind the stage. We’re all a team effort in doing this. One thing that you’ve mentioned, Mark, is that you’re learning something new all the time but how long have you been doing this and how did you get your start?

Mark Sanborn:
Full time as a pro, 31 years. I started speaking at the age of 10 in 4-H. Literally, it was a youth competition and unlike … You would think I bum so badly and was so embarrassed. That’s really what got me interested. If I had done okay like a lot of things you do as a kid, been there, done that, got the t-shirt, I might be a civil engineer right now, but I got interested in speaking and spoke in a lot of competition and then, through some involvement in another interesting organization, Future Farmers of America, because I was a farm kid, I was state …

Stephen Bowles:
Really?

Mark Sanborn:
Yeah. I was state national president and so many people heard me speak in that capacity that when I went to college, they called me to come speak. One day, spirit of free enterprise set it and I said I charge. They said, “Great. How much?” That was a problem because I really didn’t know how much when they asked. My roommate worked at Wendy’s and in two weeks, I think he made 150 bucks and smelled like a French fries so I said 150. They said, “Great.” I thought, “Oh, ain’t America a wonderful place?” I worked my way through college doing 150, $250 gigs literally to little groups, 30-minute, 20-minute. They were like patriotic and motivational and I probably quoted Zig Ziglar and Og Mandino a lot but then I actually went into sales and marketing. I thought it would behoove me to actually have some business career before I launch into speaking full time.

Stephen Bowles:
That’s interesting. For us, we kind of, a similar route but if you’re a freelance show technician, audio, light and video, you’re sort of navigating that path of building a portfolio or a book of production companies or into clients that are willing to hire you and then it’s kind of probably a lot like yours where once you do one or two good, then you’re sort of in and that you’re on their go-to list to fill the hole, right? If you’re really great, then you become their sort of de facto, “If I’m doing any show, I’m going to use this director. I’m going to use this A1.” For you, how do you … Honestly, how does a career as a motivational speaker work? How do you even book gigs? How did you figure out how to charge? Tell us a little bit more about that.

Mark Sanborn:
Sure. The one thing we have in common is you’re only as good as your last show. Most careers, you get a performance review once a year. We get one at the end of every event. The difference is you do have … What you do is a template. I know the ingredients change but a client that will love me as a keynote, because that’s pretty much what I am, a keynote or even though I’ve written books and have a lot of material, most clients want a different keynote every year. They may bring you back eventually and of course, I always hope that they do but the thing I’m proudest of is the thing that is probably my biggest challenge and that is I’ve been in the business 31 years.
There was a time when I was on a rocket. I was the new, a long time ago, but I was the new greatest, latest speaker. Everybody goes through that but you don’t stay the newest speaker for very many years because there’s people chomping at the bit, Chilean miners that come out of the … trapped in the mines and going to speaking circuit or people won a gold medal, climbed a mountain, put out a fire. I’m not being flipped but we live in a very event-driven world.

Clem Harrod:
I tied my shoe. I want to be a speaker.

Mark Sanborn:
I always tell people, the bad news is if I ever get kidnapped by a terrorist, I’ve been kidnapped by a terrorist, the good news is if I survived, man, I got a whole another career built out as a speaker.

Stephen Bowles:
You got stories.

Mark Sanborn:
Yeah, I got stories.

Clem Harrod:
Yeah. I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m sorry. Go for it.

Mark Sanborn:
No. No, but it’s about staying relevant which is why I keep writing books because if I go to a client I worked with 10 years ago and says, “Hey, want to have me back to say the same thing?” odds are they’re going to go, “No, we heard of this guy that climbed Mount Everest and he did it naked, right, and he talks about the power of overcoming severe odds,” so I have to come back and that’s why … I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had several legitimate bestsellers, not just Amazon 10-minute bestsellers, I’ve had books that were on the bestseller list on and off for months, nearly a year and that’s what keeps your … You got to establish yourself as somebody, man or a woman, with something important to say. That’s the big challenge. How well you say it, yeah, that’s important too but it’s not just about what you say or not just how well you say it but having something that a meeting planner or an audience member will say, “I need to hear that.”

Clem Harrod:
Wow.

Stephen Bowles:
Yeah. You know what, I’m thinking about all the times I’ve been backstage and I’m directing cameras and I would lead … I would start out into a keynote presentation. I’m like, “Okay, cool. This guy is going to be up here for the next 40 minutes. Sweet. I’m going to put the cameras on him. I’m going to listen on my ear for the show card to switch me between graphics every once in a while and I’m going to turn to my computer and will start e-mailing. I’m going to start …”
To me, it’s almost like I’m in cruise control when you guys get up there but I still ought to say you’d be surprised how many times I end up getting just as engaged in with what you guys are saying as your audience is out there in the front. I’m just curious. Do you think about that? Do you think that while you’re delivering, whether it’s the story or this motivational speech or really just this challenge on any level, to 5,000 people in the audience, do you even consider or think about that there’s 50 people backstage and out at front of house that are also listening to you and they might actually be taking stuff away from this as well?

Mark Sanborn:
Yeah. I’m gratified because occasionally, someone will come up and say, “Hey, I really enjoyed your program.” I know from experience that they were not obligated or they had no reason to listen other than they chose to. You don’t want to get a big head. I hate it when I hear speakers talk about, “I’m out there changing lives.” No, you’re not. People change their own lives. You may influence them and encourage them and maybe on a good day, inspire them and that’s really impactful and important work but ultimately, if somebody will say to me, “You know, your book changed my life,” I’ll say, “Thank you. I acknowledge that compliment but you changed your life. I’m glad that my book gave you the ideas or the impetus but you changed your life.”
On the other hand, you don’t want to go out there with this idea of, “Hey, this is just another show and I’m just going to sleepwalk through it and nobody will know the difference,” because you do. I always kind of have this formula. I figured 90% of the audience wants to be entertained and at the end of the speech, they’re going to go out in the hallway and get their coffee and their life will be exactly the same but 10% of the audience, they’re kind of wired like me. I honestly got into this business because I believe in the power of ideas, spoken, written ideas and I just kind of live by faith that the people that needed to hear the message were in the audience and that a few of them actually go, “You know what, I can do this.”

Stephen Bowles:
Mark, how many … Just kind of again trying to relate it more to the production industry and just really the people who are coordinating both events and broadcast, et cetera, we’re always trying to figure out what’s the, I guess, work-life balance. How do you travel for five days straight and then come home, spend three days with your family, then go out and do it again? I guess, A, we think about it in terms of an entire gig because a gig for us is a day or two of load in, two or three days of show, a day of strike, travel in and out, so that could be four to five days on an average. You’re sort of keynoting for a session so I guess a couple thoughts, right, how many days you work a year or what’s your sort of target and then how do you balance the calendar out? How do you sort of make that make sense in your world now with 20 plus years of experience doing this?

Mark Sanborn:
I did backwards. I was single. I didn’t get married till I was 37 so I did a lot of the crazy road work. I think my craziest year, I was on the road tour in 20 days speaking, doing low fee stuff and public seminars. When I got married, I had built my career to the point where I started looking at trying to find a balance between days and revenue. I have this theory that I’ve seen proven quite a few times that if you’re, as a speaker, not in front of an audience 50 times a year, you fall off radar. It’s not a magic number. I always want … My goal always now is to do 50 paid events a year. I also do some ministry stuff and some pro bono things and some promotional things for my books. A good year for me is 50 plus and I can do up to 60 without breaking much of a sweat. It’s not as easy or as much fun as it used to be but it’s not onerous. It’s not like I’m moaning and groaning.
My kids now are into high school and college, so my wife knew me as a speaker when she married me. It wasn’t a bait and switch. She knew what she was getting into. I didn’t have like this regular real job. I just basically … My commitment is, as silly as this sounds, is before it stops being fun, I’m going to quit doing it because I don’t ever want an audience to go, “Oh, man. I heard him towards the end of his career and he obviously wasn’t happy. He wasn’t enjoying it.”
If that means speaking less and finding some alternative revenue streams because the travel becomes even more challenging, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I’m a fanatic about exercise. It keeps your brain working. I’m not a health food fanatic. I love bourbon and beer but I do exercise a lot and I also try to … I stay in touch … The beauty of technology is with text and e-mail and phone, I can stay in touch with my wife. I probably am in touch with my wife as much during the day on the road as I am at the office. The only difference is I don’t go home at night and sleep in the same bed.

Stephen Bowles:
Yeah. That’s awesome. It’s true though, that balance of working and coming back home and the technology now today making that easier. That’s kind of been a theme we’ve been hearing through the various people that we’ve had on The Production Channel already, so that’s awesome to hear that that even spreads to the kind of presenter side of things as well too.

Clem Harrod:
Mark, as we close out here, I want to, as one of those people that were working backstage and heard your message and it reached me and enough so to stop what I was doing to strike up a conversation with you, for people who have yet to meet you or to see your presentation, what is that one nugget that you would give to a tech or somebody backstage or just anybody about … What’s that one nugget that you would give?

Mark Sanborn:
From The Fred Factor and it’s something that Fred, the postman, told me and then I paraphrased it, he said … I asked him how he was able to live such a full and a successful life and he said, “He laid in bed at the end of the day and the only thing he worried about is did he waste any of the day he just finished.” I was struck by this idea and I phrased it like this. Fear nothing but to waste the present moment. Any regrets I have were regrets of disengaging or wasting time.
By the way, that doesn’t mean you need to be working all the time. Sometimes, you make the most of the moment by kicking back and going, “You know, I just need to read a book or talk to my spouse or make a phone call or stare into space,” but it’s about … I guess I would call it intentionality. I think we all tend to sleepwalk through life. The older you get, the more you realize life is not indefinite, that there’s a definitive ending point. We mostly don’t know when that is but if we just are engaged in the moments that we have and are paying attention at the end of our lives, we’ll have done pretty well.

Clem Harrod:
Nice. Thank you so much, Mark, for being here sharing your message and for taking the time to speak to The Production Channel and all the people backstage.

Mark Sanborn:
Thank you and …

Stephen Bowles:
Thanks, Mark.

Mark Sanborn:
Thanks for all the work you all do. I appreciate you all and look forward, if I’m doing a show sometime and you recognize the name from the podcast, make sure you say hello.

Clem Harrod:
With that, Bowles, do you have anything else, buddy?

Stephen Bowles:
No, man. Everybody just know you can … If you’re interest in getting a hold of Mark, you can get him at marksanborn.com, M-A-R-K-S-A-N-B-O-R-N.com and yeah, Mark, just thank you so much. It’s a different side of the industry or sort of a voice that we haven’t normally had on here which is more from the stage but we’re all on the same thing together. We’re putting on a great show and experience for those who come into the room, so it’s really nice to hear from you today, Mark. Thanks.

Mark Sanborn:
Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Stephen Bowles:
Clem, you know what we’re doing here. This is The Production Channel, voices for everybody who’s [inaudible 00:33:26] on the globe working backstage. We want this to be something you guys can listen to and get a closer kind of pulse on what’s going on with the industry. That’s it. That’s a wrap for today. Please tune in next week for The Production Channel.